


Escape Velocity

by EHyde



Series: Alien Larp AU [4]
Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: I never have a good idea how romantic my writing comes across as so idk, IN SPACE, M/M, Sci-Fi AU, alien larp au, it's JaeKi if you want it to be
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-06-28
Packaged: 2018-07-18 21:22:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7331128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EHyde/pseuds/EHyde
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Their first time in space, Jae-ha and Kija react very differently. But they have a job to do, and that comes first. (more of my scifi au)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Escape Velocity

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of the alien larp au, and I'd recommend you read [this post on tumblr](http://fallenwithstyle.tumblr.com/post/136626377799/akatsuki-no-yona-alien-larp-au) for the basic premise and more context, otherwise you may be very confused. You can also find other works in the series here on AO3; they don't have to be read in order.

Nothing could have prepared Jae-ha for this. For the harsh, bright sunlight that nevertheless did nothing to dim the stars in the sky. For the sensation of falling that counteracted what his eyes plainly told him—that he was rising higher and higher still away from the earth below. And for the clouds. Perhaps it was a little thing, compared to everything else, but he was above the clouds. He grinned. Far, far above, far higher than he’d ever thought was possible.

Jae-ha glanced over at Kija. “Are you ready?” Side by side, they waited, perched precariously on the outside of Ayura and Tetora’s strange little vessel. A ship that traversed the space between worlds, rather than oceans …

“Of course I’m ready!” The princess asked us to do this, after all.” But Jae-ha could tell the other dragon was nervous. He didn’t blame him. This wasn’t like anything either of them had ever done before, and one false move could send either of them falling away into the endless void … well, in theory. In practice, Jae-ha knew they were quite secure, that Ayura was a skilled pilot and would come after them if anything went wrong, and that the worst that could happen would be that they would be captured by officers of the ship they were about to attack.

“No need to worry,” said Jae-ha. “I’ve done this many times before.”

“… you have not.”

“I’m a pirate, remember? This is just like capturing any other ship.”

Kija was silent for a moment, glancing around, glancing back at the world below them. “I always knew I would follow the destiny of the four dragons wherever it took me,” he said. “I just—I didn’t know the world was so _big._ ” The outline of the Koukan peninsula was clear as a map—though one without borders between tribes and nations—and it was completely dwarfed by the ocean and the other continents surrounding it. And then, looking up: “Or that there were so many others out there.”

“I don’t know that the destiny of the four dragons has anything to do with any of this,” said Jae-ha. “None of the stories I heard said anything about—” He paused. “How about you? You had more stories, in your village, I know that much.”

Kija shook his head. “No, nothing. But—would you be up here? Would you have gone this far, if the princess hadn’t asked?”

“Oh, you know me,” said Jae-ha. “Of course I would.” He gazed down at the world beneath them again. Impossible to judge how far they’d come by sight alone. “When I was young, I used to dream this was possible. To leap so high I never had to come back down.”

“Ah …” Kija was silent for a moment. “But you’re not running away this time.”

“… no.”

Their world had changed so much, so suddenly. People from other worlds, treating Kouka like their private playground, their battleground, as if the people of _this_ would meant nothing … well, perhaps it was only a change in perspective. After all, wasn’t that what the gods had always planned for him? Many would have lost hope at the idea of such powerful forces overseeing their lives, but not Yona. She’d already surrounded herself with monsters out of legend, so perhaps it shouldn’t have been a surprise when she accepted Lady Lili’s true nature without question. And when Ayura and Tetora had returned to them with news that Lili and another of their otherworldly allies had been captured, and had asked for their help—a brief consideration, a frowned “not being able to visit these other worlds ourselves is a problem, isn’t it?” and here Jae-ha was. On his way to commandeer a space-ship. Sure, the chance to venture further than he ever had before was enticing, but it was Yona’s resolve—

A touch on his hand, and Jae-ha nearly jumped out of position. Kija was right beside him, yes, but the strange suits they wore—Ayura and Tetora had only had two spares, which was why it was just the two of them here now—made his voice sound the same wherever he was. The closeness startled him. “Jae-ha, it feels like we’re falling already.”

Jae-ha nodded. Falling, and yet not … a strange new world indeed. He clasped his fingers around Kija’s, and somehow it felt as if he were the one with all the strength here, despite the power of the white dragon’s hand. Unlike the muffled, distant effect of his voice, Kija’s touch felt as close as ever. Jae-ha didn’t understand how these space-suits worked, how some invisible force could act as an impermeable glove, yet still allow such a touch—but Tetora had assured them both that it would stand up to far more than the shifting size and shape of the white dragon’s hand, and that was the important part (when he’d asked why the entire suits weren’t made of that invisible force-field, Tetora had simply laughed and said “too expensive,” which—perhaps things really were the same wherever you went).

“I suppose this is nothing new for you,” Kija added.

“No, no, it’s—”

“You’re not _frightened,_ though.”

“Not of falling,” Jae-ha agreed. “The feeling—weightlessness—it’s not like when I fly, but I suppose instinct kicks in …”

“I wasn’t saying _I_ was scared. By the way.”

Jae-ha almost laughed. Kija’s protest came too late, but he’d play along. “It _is_ different, though. Look down. You can see the edge of the world. No matter how high I ever jumped, the earth was always flat, the horizon barely shifted … now look. You can see it getting smaller as we speak.”

“I don’t—I don’t like that.”

“Hey.” He squeezed the other dragon’s hand. “Remember why you’re here.” Jae-ha had been an obvious choice; Ayura and Tetora rightly guessing that his powers would allow him to easily adjust to working, to fighting, without gravity. “If it was strength alone, it could have been Hak, after all. Remember what Yona said.”

“She said …”

Was that a slight blush shining through the clear front guard of his helmet? “She said that no matter how strange a place you found yourself, she knew she could count on you to have the resolve and the willpower to do what needed to be done.” Those words seemed to bring Kija the comfort he needed. He gave a firm nod, and Jae-ha added, “which is just another way of saying you’re too stubborn to be scared,” at which point Kija dropped his hand and glared at him. _Well, that did the trick, anyway._

They waited in silence, watching the world shrink away beneath them. The stars above shone brighter than they’d ever been before, and nestled among them, their target grew larger and larger. Finally, Tetora slid out of the vessel’s little hatch and placed herself beside them. “Almost time,” she said. No longer wearing her human guise, Jae-ha couldn’t read her expression beneath her mask, but she sounded calm. _She really has done this before._ “We’re about as close as we can get before the ship won’t be able to cloak effectively. You remember the plan?” As she spoke, she took two ends of cable from her belt, clipping one to each of the two dragons. “If it’s just us _without_ a ship, they’ll never see us coming.” Jae-ha nodded. The strategy was, after all, a familiar one. _Land in their crows’ nest under cover of darkness. Disable their lookout._ If this lookout was some sort of complicated machinery and automated weapons system that he had no hope of understanding—well, they didn’t need to know how any of it worked to tear it apart. “Ayura will reverse course and return with the rest of the boarding party. By the time they know we’re here, it will be far too late. Ready?” Jae-ha nodded, but Kija still looked hesitant. “Don’t worry about hitting the target,” Tetora added. “I’ll make any course corrections, but they shouldn’t be necessary. Ayura’s aimed us well.”

“… right.”

“Here,” Jae-ha said. He slid a little closer to the white dragon, reaching an arm around Kija’s waist. Lifting him into his arms. “Like old times, right?” There would be no need to support Kija’s weight, not out here, but—Kija said nothing, but he didn’t protest, either.

_Now_ he thought he could read Tetora’s face, and that she wore an amused smile, but all she said was “all right, then. On my mark.” And together they pushed off and away from the little ship. Tetora flew head first, weapon held out in front of her, almost like she was swimming through the void, but Jae-ha twisted himself around as soon as they took off.

“There,” he said. “The enemy’s ship is below us.” It had been natural to think of the earth as _down,_ their target somewhere in the distant sky, but now, falling feet first, landing just as he always did—their target might be completely foreign, and the ocean surrounding it hostile in ways Jae-ha couldn’t imagine, but maybe this would make it feel a little more familiar. A little more comfortable. “You’ve always trusted me to land safely with you before—is this so different?”

“It’s different,” Kija insisted. “But Jae-ha—you know I’ll always trust you to carry me, no matter where we go.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm [fallenwithstyle](http://fallenwithstyle.tumblr.com) on tumblr if you'd like to come say hi.


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